For Us
by BitterPotato00
Summary: Silver fought- and fought, and fought.


Silver fought- and fought, and fought.

He fought Gold all the way; fought him in Cherrygrove years ago, fought him even through their relationship, fought tears over his demise, and, finally, fought him when he appeared to him in the graveyard tower. Silver fought him because he wasn't himself. His blanched visage and chilled aura unnerved Silver, but they stood no chance against the terrifying malevolence in his soulless eyes.

And he began fighting when Gold's "I have to go..." was quickly followed with "...but Silver, you're coming with me."

He ran and ran, desperately dodging graves and sprinting faster when Gold's freezing presence found him once again. Silver was yanked mid-step and slammed into the ground, and his stunned gaze suddenly registered that the ghost had crouched in front of him. An icy fist drew Silver's chin from the floor, forcing him to meet the macabre stare of his deceased love. Gold's smile was empty but his eyes were cruelly fierce; both his hands held Silver's face firmly after he snarled and tried to escape. He caught his fist as Silver threw a failed punch and crushed it, watching him cry out and feeling fragile bones splintering under his supernatural force.

Through the pain Silver could feel Gold's thumb gently stroking his cheek in a gesture of once-appreciated affection.

"Why?" What was an attempt at sounding threatening fell flat, coming out as pathetic instead.

"Because I've missed you," the ghost stated simply. "Because you belong with me. We belong together."

The determination in his tone forced shivers up Silver's spine. He immediately pulled away from the spirit and got to his feet, cradling his mangled hand and ignoring the hurt that shot through his heart at the sight of Gold's face; Silver could see his disappointment and guessed that it stemmed from his failure to die quietly. No. He would fight.

And he did.

Silver fought until his hands were reduced to useless stumps of mutilated skin and fingers, and until his arms were dislocated from the times Gold yanked him back towards wherever he was trying to take him. He fought until his knees bent inward, until his ankles shattered, until his entire body curled around itself and laid helplessly on the floor. He fought until he couldn't fight anymore- but then he realized it was an impossible fight to win in the first place.

Acutely Silver heard footsteps approaching his sprawling frame and felt the familiar dread sweeping in with the freezing cold. He braced himself, but the final, brutal blow to his head didn't come; arms wrapped around him and he was hoisted off the floor instead. Silver's legs twitched uselessly when he tried to kick Gold and free himself. His arms remained dead and heavy and still when he attempted to punch and claw at the ghost's back. Finally Silver just worked to catch his breath, and, to his horror and humiliation, his crazed pants had turned into wracking sobs.

The tears that poured down his bloody face were easily identifiable- they were tears of defeat.

Silver guessed that he'd gone limp then, because he felt Gold run a frigid hand down his back gently and loosen his death grip on him.

"It'll be alright, Silver." His voice was soft, and even through the pain Silver realized how much he missed hearing Gold speak. "It'll all be over soon, you'll see. You won't have to be alone anymore."

"I... don't..." was all he could manage before his voice gave out and Silver let his head lower onto Gold's shoulder. When he lifted himself back up, there was a splotch of rusty colored blood where his panting mouth had been. 'I don't wanna go,' he attempted to say, 'please don't do this, Gold.' But his words died before they even left his gaping mouth and he knew that his love wasn't going to change his mind.

Gold was just as stubborn dead as he was alive.

He was stuck to think and work to breathe as his captor carried him to what he'd quickly come to know as their final resting place. It was foolish, he thought, to even have tried to fight him, because it was Gold- he'd always known him to be stubborn, devoted, and powerful in both battles and confrontations, and the hope of Silver winning against him in either case was a lost cause. He was dead from the moment he stepped into the tower.

But Silver didn't get how Gold was simultaneously the same and different; the person whom always hugged and protected him was the one that just beat him into submission. He crushed Silver's hand and stroked his cheek in the same breath, and even though he knew deep down that Gold loved him, what else was he going to do to him?

Before he could ponder any further Gold stopped in his tracks and eased him gently onto his feet, supporting his failing body with hands on his shoulders. The spirit's eyes glowered with both affection and malevolence. Silver braced himself for what he knew was to come and squeezed his eyes shut.

Gold's hands slid from his shoulders; one rested on his back and the other guided Silver's head to the crook of his neck.

A low murmur: "I'm doing this for us."

Silver didn't respond. Then the silence was broken by the snapping of his ribs as Gold crushed his chest. He attempted to throw his head back but the ghost's hand held him still, rendering him helpless.

So he screamed and thrashed and spat blood onto the tower floor. It was all in vain.

Silver was choking, bleeding on the inside, crumbling under the pressure of his cracking ribs and burning with the scorching intensity of his agony. And if his dying vocal chords conveyed the extent of his torture to Gold, then the ghost was incredibly oblivious (or incredible at ignoring it). His free hand caressed Silver's long hair; he whispered sickly sweet promises of an eternity together into his love's ear as Silver's struggling finally died down.

The end came rushing in, accompanied by blood filling his lungs and a quiet gurgle that escaped his mouth.

"That's it... that's it..."

Gold's voice echoed as Silver's vision went dark.

When he next awoke, Gold was sitting and watching him intently. At the sight of him conscious, he immediately grinned and gathered Silver into a tight hug; when Silver looked down at his back, he noticed that Gold's skin- and his hoodie and shorts and sneakers- regained its color.

Most of all, Silver noticed that Gold's body was warm.

"I know it hurt," he murmured, his head nuzzling into Silver's red hair, "but it had to be done. I love you, Silver."

He killed him. He trapped him and dragged him towards their grave and crushed the life from his body and-

"I love you too."

-somehow none of those things mattered because it was Gold who did them.

Silver felt his arms at his sides and discovered that they were intact. He raised them and wrapped them around Gold's shoulders, laying each of his fingers against his back and feeling his warmth spread through the digits. Fighting him seemed so stupid then; Silver would gladly trade the air in his lungs for another moment with Gold, and now, they were timeless.

It had hurt. It was torture. But it was over.

"Forever?" Silver uttered meekly. He had to know for sure.

"Forever," came the reply. He could hear the smile in Gold's voice.


End file.
